Thank You Nat Hentoff and Senator Colgan

Nat Hentoff was a friend and supporter of Democrats For Life of America and served on our Advisory Board for several years. A writer for the Village Voice for more than 50 years, he held a liberal orthodoxy. His passion was jazz and he frequently wrote about his love of music, including several books. He was a fierce advocate for free speech, and strongly opposed abortion. The intersection of these two principles coincided in the early 1990’s.

In 1992, after Governor Robert Casey of Pennsylvania was prevented from speaking at the Democratic National Convention about abortion, Hentoff hosted the governor at the historic Cooper Union so he would have an opportunity to share his views on abortion. However, the governor was once again silenced by a group of “hooligans” who “made all speech except their own inaudible.”

In addition to opposing abortion, Hentoff defended the rights of peoplel with disablities and the elderly. His consistently well-thought writings and advocacy for human rights will be missed.

Senator Chuck Colgan retired from the Virginia state senate in 2015, at the young age of 89. Part of me wonders if he stayed there because he was the lone pro-life Democrat in the Virginia senate.

He was the longest-serving member of the Virginia state senate. First elected in 1975, he served in the leadership as the president pro tempore and budget conferee.

He was quiet but effective, not only willing but also encouraging of working across party lines for the good of the state. We hope we can find a pro-life Democrat to fill Senator Chuck Colgan's very big shoes and the hole left in our state legislature.

DFLA Mission Statement

Democrats For Life of America advocates and supports programs and policies that respect and promote life from conception to natural death. This includes, but is not limited to, opposition to abortion, capital punishment, and euthanasia. Learn more...